


The Haunting of Aberdeen

by Charlie9646



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Banter, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Mates, Mystery, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Severus Snape Lives, Sex, Smut, Snarky Severus Snape, Unspeakable Hermione Granger, Veela, clear consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:02:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27364723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie9646/pseuds/Charlie9646
Summary: Hermione saw him and yet she could not believe her own eyes, Severus Snape? Alive? And a Veela?Finding him would change her life forever, not that she knew it in that instant.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Hermione Granger
Comments: 3
Kudos: 104
Collections: Birthday Love!





	The Haunting of Aberdeen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TriDogMom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriDogMom/gifts).



> Thank you to my beta TakingFlight48, and QuinTalon who sparked the idea and the art for this ) which will be posted on Facebook.
> 
> Happy Birthday TriDogMom.

Upon her graduation from her 8th year at Hogwarts, Hermione had ultimately decided that becoming an Unspeakable would get her closest to creating the change she wanted to see within the Wizarding World. It wasn’t as action packed as becoming an Auror, which tasted a bit too strongly of the war for her taste, nor was it just the red-tape bureaucracy of The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. But it was somewhere she had been hopeful she could still make a difference. A  _ real _ difference. 

Over the last few years she had spent her days doing the grunt work. She was proud of what she had accomplished thus far. The Centaur respected her, the Giants allowed her passage onto their wooded lands, and Pixies well they tolerated her, which truly was more than anyone else could claim. This might not be  _ why _ she became an Unspeakable, but it was far better than putting people behind bars and leaving them to rot there.

There were Unspeakables for everything, and Hermione’s specialty turned out to be creatures. Finding, understanding, and assisting the things that bit you and went bump in the night; that’s the sphere of work she had found herself in. 

This new case, however, was different. This one wasn’t working with old Pixie magic or merfolk’s scales being sold on the black market. A Muggle church was being haunted by some sort of creature that only came awake a night. And normally this would have been handled in the DRCMC, however, it hadn’t hurt anyone. The goal then was to understand it and de-escalate the potential exposure of the magical world through its night-time proclivities. 

So here she was trekking along the cobblestone streets of Aberdeen, Scotland. Her fur-lined cloak, a gift from Pansy, was pulled around her tightly, hands burrowing deeper in her pockets to stave off the chill. 

_ At least it’s not raining, _ Hermione thought bitterly as another gush of freezing wind slammed into her smaller frame. 

It was easily past midnight, but it was the safest time to do this. The informant, a squib priest of the church in question, had confirmed there was no better time to avoid any wandering Muggles than at twilight. It was an odd job for someone who grew up in the magical world to fall into, but it wasn’t her place to question such things. Unlike how she had been during her school days, Hermione had learned sometimes things were simply better left alone. 

Picking up her pace, the soles of her leather boots hitting the cobblestone echoed sharply around her, but beyond the howling wind, there were no other sounds. Finally picking up her ducked head, Hermione saw what she was looking for. The building was old, at least a couple hundred years, possibly older. Tilting her head to the right slightly, she considered the crumbling exterior and general wear of the building. People still attended mass here, but she supposed there wasn’t much that could be done about these old buildings in smaller towns. It didn’t matter in the end, Hermione wasn’t here to admire the sights. 

Standing firmly in the light of the moon, she whipped her wand out and hissed quietly, “Come out whatever you are. You can’t keep tormenting this parish. I don’t know what you are, but if you come quietly I can help you.”  __

“And what if I don’t _ want _ to come quietly? What shall you do about that?” A shadowy figure growled. Even in the brightness of the full moon, it was firmly tucked into the shadows. “Mrs.Weasley or, could it be, Mrs. Potter? Minerva and I used to take bets on which it would be.”

“Professor Snape?” She breathed out, “But, wha-, you are supposed to be well, dead.” Unable, or unwilling to stop herself she continued, “What in Merlin’s name are you doing here? And wrong on both accounts. It remains as Ms. Granger, so you both lost. Now, I repeat, why aren’t you dead, and instead, here of all places?” 

She heard the rustling of his form as the not-dead man stalked closer to her, closer but still out of her range of sight. “Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated, though I have no interest in dealing with that conundrum. However, I am not anyone’s professor anymore, Granger. Nor do I have an interest in explaining myself to the likes of you.” 

“Fine, fine, I have other business here. I will sort you out another time,” she acquiesced. “I’ll leave you be, but first, do you know of a creature who stalks this church at night?” 

“Creature?” Severus chuckled darkly and she swore she could see what she thought could be his outline, leaning leisurely against the outer building. “Surely you, of all people, know that Muggles have a tendency to tell foolish stories only partly based in fact. Obviously, as someone who came here as a saviour of this creature, you must know enough about them to not immediately believe all that you hear.”

“This is my job, I will have you know,” Hermione said, walking closer to him. “And it wasn’t a Muggle who informed the Ministry, but a Squib.”

Severus shifted further along the wall with each step she took forward. The tension was palpable in the air. “Stay back,” he snarled. “For the love of all that’s holy, stay back.”

“Why? Why is it that you won’t let me get a good look at you?” She reached out for him, her fingers brushing against his arm. That’s when Hermione saw them, when she saw him clearly. Sighing heavily, Severus stepped into the moonlight, impressive wings shifting against his back; deep, raven coloured feathers fluttered as they cloaked his narrow, lanky frame. 

“This is why,” Severus hissed. “I am the creature who has been seen around this church. I haven’t been bothering  _ anyone _ nor putting your world at risk, Ms. Granger _. _ The _ Squib _ ,” he spat out, “who contacted you did not do so with innocent intent. That man already hated me from the role I played in both wars. When he realized the winged figure and I were one in the same, he went running to you.”

“This is remarkable,” Hermione whispered, voice barely carrying as she made a move to run a finger along his feathers. 

“Remarkable? The venom that should have killed me turned me into  _ this.  _ A bloody Veela of all things. And since you could not be bothered to heed my warning, just as you never have before, do you know why I demanded you stay back? You  _ insufferable little-know-it-all _ .”

“And you are the same bastard you always were,” Hermione disregarded the lethal glare he doused her with, slamming her fists into his chest. 

He snatched her wrist in his hands before she could get in another blow, “I am many things, but a bastard is not one of them. My parents were  _ quite _ unhappily married when I was born.” He stared at her long enough that her body shivered from the Scottish winds. Hermione was too shocked at the way he cupped her hand to assist the conversation along any further. However, she almost jolted at his next request. “Come, we have much to discuss and I would prefer to do it out of this cold.”

“Who says I will go anywhere with you?” 

“Because,” Severus smirked. “If I know anything about you  _ Hermione _ , you want answers to things you don’t understand. Fortunately for you, I am interested in enlightening you on a few details that would otherwise remain hidden like a vault inside my mind.” He said nothing more, simply walking down a path behind the church she had not previously noticed. He stood, dark and foreboding as ever, standing stoically in the moonlight, waiting for her. With a nod to herself and just as Severus seemed to expect if his twitching jaw muscle was anything to go by, Hermione followed after him. Not because she was curious but because he was her job after all. 

She glared at the satisfied set of his mouth, uncaring if Severus Snape might believe otherwise. 

  
  
  


The man’s home was small though rather neat. There were floor to ceiling bookshelves, stuffed with books of all shapes and sizes, taking up every possible inch of wall space. Severus took a seat in the slightly more comfortable looking chair by the fire. His raven-like wings shone even in the dim light of the flames and candles strewn around them. 

Hermione finally got a good look at him, the wings were the most impressive part by far, though there were other more  _ subtle _ things. His skin was still pale, but instead of looking sickly and sunless? It was now a rather fitting alabaster. His hair hung around him, longer than she had ever seen it in strains that reminded her of soft silk. Severus’ eyes however were making her feel the strangest things. They had always held a weight to them, but now, now they reminded her of the wolves she had seen in the zoo as a small child, or a hawk and Hermione was the mouse. . 

  
  


She felt unsettled by the way he watched her sharply, taking in every detail as if he was not just simply sizing her up. But rather, as if Hermione was  _ something _ he wanted, not  _ someone _ he had invited in his home. 

_ The whole bit was rather unsettling, _ Hermione thought, taking in a deep breath,  _ surely Severus would get on with what he had to say so she could leave this place, and him behind.  _

“For the love of all that’s bloody well holy, would you stop staring, Granger?” Severus snarled, shifting back in his chair. Her eyebrows rose as he grinned at his own statement, as if he had just made a joke but would never deign to laugh at himself. 

Pinching his nose before continuing once more, “Merlin, it’s as if you have never seen a creature before... Isn’t that your job, or are you just playing pretend as you did through school?” Severus laughed, pulling out a pipe and lighting it. 

“We didn’t play freaking pretend...We were forced to do those things…”

“Actually you weren’t,” he muttered. “You chose to. You chose not to come to your professors in your first year. You chose to assume that just because I wore black and snarled a lot that I was evil. Since your first year, the dynamic trio assumed they had no option but to handle the terrors of the school on their own. Even the Umbridge situation, if you would have gone back and Firecalled the mutt one more time, well who knows how things might have gone differently…”

“You are the same arse you always were,” Hermione spat, wanting to desperately punch the mocking expression off the man’s face. “The same horrible, wretched, and disgusting thing you always were.”

Severus crossed one long skinny leg over the other. “I never claimed that I wasn’t.” 

“I used to defend you. I used to insist that you weren’t what they thought you were. What a fool I was. Now what a fool Harry is - planning on naming his youngest son after you - thinking you died some sort of hero , some sort of martyr and instead you simply spend your days haunting Muggle churches like the dungeon bat that you always were.”

“Easy it is to love a martyr, far harder is it to invite a monster out to dinner,” he said.

“Why did you insist I come with you?” She asked, ignoring his stupid statement that made not a lick of sense. “Why did you want to speak to me? Why didn’t you stay hidden? Or at very least run away? Why in Merlin’s name are you speaking in riddles and dragging up long dead shite?” Hermione growled out, arms finding a home across her chest. 

“Are you finished?” Severus asked, taking puffs on the pipe between his lips. “Because I do, in fact, have something to say beyond snipping at you back and forth about things that do not matter. Would you like to hear it?” His voice softened at the end, as if he was trying out what it felt like to be kind, to ease his tone. But for what reason, Hermione was not sure.

“Get on with it.”

“What do you know about Veelas? Where they come from; how is it that they exist; and why they exist?” 

“A bit,” she said, stopping herself from giving into the urge to twist a curl around her finger as she considered all she knew from her books and her time learning from Fleur herself. 

Moving to his side, she flopped into the seat to his left when he waved his hand idly in its direction. Taking a deep drag from his pipe, he began to speak. His tone thoughtful, the sinfulness she scarcely remembered from her time at Hogwarts resurfacing and mingling with the heady smoke his tongue twisted and turned about. 

“Veela, pure Veela, lived most commonly in mountainous ranges, mostly in western Asia, a rather long time ago. They lived as families, within their larger clans or ‘flocks’ although that is a rather antiquated and unappreciated term. They survived in mated pairs that could and would last a lifetime. 

And then wizards came.” Hermione shifted in her seat, angling her body towards him as she tucked her hands between her now crossed legs and trying valiantly to ignore the low churning in her gut that his ‘lecture’ was inspiring in her. 

“After the Black Plague, the world as a whole was suffering from a high body count, but with an already small population, the wizarding communities numbered lessened further. 

So, in an effort to bolster both their numbers and their magic, wizards looked to magic wielding creatures. It is no secret that wizards have always maintained a sense of superiority to Muggles, and this was evident in their desire to copulate with Veela rather than Muggles and risk a loss of magic in their heirs. 

They weren’t forced, not at all, but Veelas were similar to the wizarding community. A fairly small population in their own right with a vested interest in injecting new ‘blood’ so to speak. Inadvertently however, Veelas lost what made them who they were as they mixed with wizards. There isn’t one alive today that isn’t half or less.”

As Severus paused to let out another impressive bit of magical smoke, she caught herself leaning forward and straightened as inconspicuous as possible. 

“You see, my grandmother’s family hails from Eastern Europe. I didn’t know my line had Veela in us. First off, my family is the wrong colouring, secondly they are supposed to be beautiful. I am not delusional; I assure you I am aware I was not ‘blessed’ with these traits. But, it seems there are two types of Veela, Granger, light and dark Veela. The most common, light veela, have worked hard to maintain a sense of identity separate from wizards, but dark Veela chose to fold themselves into wizarding kind. 

Therefore, they became but a whisper in our world. A rumored past that may or may not have happened. They disappeared, only cropping up once more when one of their descendants was in danger of losing their life.” Hungrily, Hermione followed the path his long fingers made along the high collar of his top, presumably tracing any evidence that may have remained, mental or physical, from his brush with death. “Like when I was bitten by the snake. Dark Veela can survive encounters that would kill the average magical person. But, to be saved by that part of yourself, you become as they used to be. With all the pitfalls and benefits of such things.”

“I already knew most of that,” Hermione snipped, crossing her arms back over her chest tightly when she caught her runaway thoughts. 

_ What did it matter, so Snape is a dark Veela... It didn’t mean that he should be haunting an old church like some overgrown bat, scaring children for the bloody hell of it. Though that wasn’t much different than he had been at Hogwarts, now was it? _

Her thoughts bounced through her mind like ping pong balls, hitting the walls and echoing throughout. 

“I asked you not to touch me,  _ Hermione, _ ” her name spoken as if it was a prayer. “Because of these traits I now carry. The deepest being the awakening of our understanding, our connection with our Veela mate...”

“So, yours is dead. What does that have to do with me?” Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, her mind not daring to draw any other conclusions. “I know if your mate has passed, Veela mourn for them the rest of your life, but haven’t you already been doing that? Based on the memories you gave to Harry...” she let her comment rest between them, observing the rigidity of his form at the mention of those memories.

“Harry, bloody Potter,” Severus growled, his pipe clinking against an ashtray on the end table near him, and stood up sharply. Her eyes followed as he tore about his sitting room, through the bookshelves, and anything else he could reach, as if he was looking for something. “That fool should keep his opinions to himself… More so if they are about matters that don’t concern him.”

“It was his mother in those memories! Of course it concerned him. And beyond that you gave them to him! These were not opinions, Severus Snape, they were tangible facts!” Hermione stood, heart thumping feverishly as she moved to grab hold of him once again, using all her strength to attempt to shake the arse out of him. 

Severus Snape did not move an inch, he was rigid and unyielding and her mind drifted down a path she daren’t have considered previously. And as if he could read the very murmurs of her soul, he spun quickly, dark eyes intense, long fingers drifting into her hair, and he glided her mouth to his, sealing the inevitability that was growing between them. 

It was downright shocking, perplexing even… For once Hermione was at a loss for words, even in her own mind. He tasted like smoke as his tongue invaded her mouth, sending shivers up her spine. Never one to be idle, her hands drifted to grip onto his shoulders. But, then just as suddenly as the kiss began he was pulling away from her.

He loomed over her, his wings twitching against his back. “Lily Evans Potter,” his murmur washed over her like the bittersweet tang of dark chocolate, “was a  _ good _ friend of mine. My first friend in fact, but just as you have no desire to fall in bed with Neville Longbottom? I felt the same about her.” 

“So I am your…” She couldn’t say it, the words dying on her lips. 

“Mate,” Severus deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at her silence. “You are my mate and that’s why I didn’t want you to touch me. Touch is something that helps establish the bond. Touching releases endorphins in me, and I presume in you as well to an extent, that leads to..more. And didn’t want to…”

“Tie yourself to me?” Hermione interrupted, shaking as she did so. “I know my blood status, my personality, my age, and looks are not appealing to you, but surely there are worse things, aren’t there?” 

The furrow to her brow deepend as she realized what she had asked, what she was hinting at. And when he laughed her face flashed with the sting of rejection. His lean frame shaking softly, his hands with their twisted long fingers covering Severus’ face, as he turned his face upwards. “You think I find you unappealing?” 

His voice booming and filled with shock. “Hermione Jean Granger, you do not see yourself clearly. I didn’t want to tie you to  _ me _ , not the other way around. I have been tied to you from the moment I chose life until the day I take my last breath. Age does not matter, blood status does not matter, your looks? You are the prettiest woman I have ever seen. And this personality of yours, well if I took displeasure in that it- pot meet kettle. 

However, after everything I sacrificed, I chose to be selfish this once and against my better judgement, I needed to see you once more, as I am now. That’s why I outed myself the way I did; my spell in the dark that it would land on your lap and it would be you, and you alone to investigate. I have been haunting this place to get your attention. I am a Veela, but we would rarely if ever come under the watch of your department.”

“You should have just come to me, Severus. You should have let me decide if I wanted to be with you or not,” she muttered, twisting a curl behind her ear and turning her chin up to get a better look at him. “I can’t promise you forever, but I am willing to give this a try. I know how easy it is to hide behind a persona, to hide away the best parts of yourself to appease those around you and the circumstances that demand it. I cannot believe that someone willing to hide away forever, alone, can be as horrible as you have made yourself out to be, tonight included.” 

With a reverence that she now understood as their bond calling out to her, Hermione reached up to brush her fingers along his right wing. Severus sighed, clasping her free hand in his own, “Can I kiss you again?” His voice was rich with worry and fear. 

Hermione pressed onto the tips of her toes before whispering, “Yes,” and initiating their second kiss. 

She sighed as one of Severus’ hands twisted into her curls, the other snaking under her shirt, his thumb pressing sharply into her hip. Hermione’s hands tightened their hold around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her, deepening the kiss. Hermione grunted as Severus let out a soft whine as her fingers felt the way his wings shifted, shoulders twisting, and back remolded itself as her mouth explored his. His impressive wings finally disappeared under his skin and Severus pulled back, panting and placing his forehead against her temple. 

Whispering in her ear, he said breathlessly, “I want you, but only if it’s mutual, Ms. Granger…”

“I want you,” her fingers flying to the buttons of his shirt and undoing them. “I want this.” The words shocked her even as she spoke them. 

_ Did Hermione in fact want this? Did she want to be with him? As sudden as this was to her logical mind, the rest of her, the overwhelming center of her, knew that Yes, she did.  _

For once in her life Hermione did not mull it over for long stretches of time. The feeling of her acceptance settled into her very bones as she smoothed her hands up his newly exposed chest and leaning up to be closer to him, kissed him once more. 

Pulling away he asked her, “Would you like to do this somewhere far more comfortable?”

Unable to speak, Hermione simply nodded, biting her bottom lip as she did so. Severus reached out taking her hand in his own, tugging her softly along to his bedroom. Opening the door gently when they reached it, he led her into the room. Severus whispered a soft  _ lumos, _ and the few candles in the room lit up. They filled the room with a soft, gentle glow, the anxiety that had built on their short reprieve dissolving as the flames cast warm hues against his searching face. 

Hermione got a good look at him now, with his wings tucked into his back. T ime and war had scarred him, not just his throat, those were raised and a bright pink. He was hunched over now as if it had been his wings that were holding him up. Severus now seemed to want to fold in on himself, as if he  _ needed _ something around him to ground himself to the earth. 

The confidence that they both had early was long gone; they both stood there staring at one another. Hermione opened her mouth to speak and then simply shut it. Nothing seemed able to come out no matter how hard she tried. But, then just as suddenly the spell seemed to break. 

Severus reached for Hermione, pulling to her close to him once more. He smelled like his pipe, like rain, like herbs and something she could not name, however, it just felt right. As she took in greedy breath after breath, hoping to sear his scent onto her soul she ran her fingers down his naked chest reaching for his belt buckle. The man shivering under her touch, a sigh escaping his soft lips. Severus bent down kissing her, his fingers burrowing into her curls once again, tilting her head up as he did so.

However, before he could get carried away, Hermione lightly pushed his arms off her, pushing the unbuttoned top off his shoulders and finally watching the fabric fall away. Biting her lip she accepted another kiss from him before Severus pulled away, tugging the straps of her cloak, prompting her to shove it off and then pulling her shirt over her head. Before he could peruse her semi-nude form as she had she plucked and tugged, following the path of his trousers, falling to her knees when they did. With a deep breath she trailed her eyes up his alabaster legs, covered in sparse, thick black hairs before braving his gaze. Severus was looking down at her with half-lidded dark eyes, biting down sharply on his lip.

“May I?” Hermione cleared her throat. “Do you want me to suck your cock?” 

“Please,” Severus groaned through gritted teeth. His hands smoothing down her crown before grabbing onto the wind-swept curls.

Finally pulling his pants down she let a lone finger trace from base to tip as she observed his hardened cock. He was just as pale here as the rest of him, though the tip was a sinful red, primed with arousal if the precome leaking from the tip was any indication. Hermione leaning slightly forward taking his tip into her mouth. Her left hand going around the part that would not fit in her mouth. 

Licking the tip, she caused him to growl, “get on with it, would you.”

Pulling off of him she snapped, “I will take as long as a please.” Though Hermione went back, taking as much as she could of him in her mouth.

“Cheeky witch, aren’t you?” 

Instead of answering she ran her tongue on the bottom side of his cock, shifting and letting the head of him hit hard against her inner cheek as her tongue ran up and down his shaft. Hermione loved the feeling of owning Severus’ pleasure; at this moment it was almost enough to have her own hand wander towards her own arousal. However, she daren't consider that - silently hoping this night would end well for the both of them. then just as quickly moved down to suck hard on the tip. She had him in the palm of her hand, and it thrilled her like a shock to every single part of her. 

Severus might think he was in control, his hand in her hair and her being the one on her knees, but that wasn’t the case. Hermione had him right where she wanted him and this was only the start of it. He was close, she could feel it. Feeling it in the twitches in his pale limbs, and the way his dark nearly black eyes looked down at her. How they were filled with lust for her. The confirmation of reciprocated need thrummed through her. 

“Stop,” he muttered hoarsely. “I want to finish inside of you. Come here.” Severus tugged gently on her curls, his cock slipping out of her mouth. 

Hermione stood up finally actually taking in the room that was around her. The dark wood of the headboard and footboard, the plush duvet a dark midnight blue, and one single nightstand in the colour of wood. There were no signs in the room of the man that Severus was. No photos, no knicknacks, not even a clothes chair, something that all of her friends had. 

This room felt like a roadside motel, as distant and unattached as anything could possibly be. But, it did not matter not one single bit. There was time in the future to worry about such things as Hermione caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door. Her cheeks a bright rosy shade, her curls sticking out more than usual, marks already blooming on her neck from Severus’ fingers, but it was the brightness and warmth in her gaze that arrested her. Hermione Jean Granger looked happy, an image she had not experienced in a long time. 

And the culprit, her hand came up to her cheek, the warmth spreading through her palm and to her other extremities. The culprit was Severus Snape of all people; she swallowed back a burst of laughter at how utterly nutty her younger self would have considered this very reality. 

Hermione watched as Severus stripped off his trousers and pants-- they were going to do this. They had been  _ doing _ this. Gone was the cheekiness, but not how much she wanted this man. Severus sat on the bed, tapping the space next to him. She could just barely see them, the dark tattoo-like wings etched into his back in the mirror. Hermione knew that they would be there, but it was still rather shocking to see them. 

Stepping forward, she reached out brushing her fingers along the feathers on Severus’ pale back. Shivering at her touch as he looked up at her, his hands grabbed her hips, and then undid her jeans calmly. His long fingers brushing against her belly as he did so, yanking down the last of her clothes without much fanfare. 

Hermione steadied herself against his shoulders as she kicked the rest of her clothing off and then she launched herself at Severus, kissing him, finally feeling smooth skin against taut and encouraging him backwards. He broke their kiss, pulling her knees down on either side of his hips and she gasped at the change in his countenance. 

Severus was smiling. Not out of rudeness or mockery, but actual happiness. 

“You look handsome, do you know that?” Hermione asked him. “At least when you smile that is.”

One of his hands rested on her arse, “Do not lie to me for my benefit, Granger, not even a creature inheritance could fix what time, genetics, and bad habits have done to my body and face. I am no fool and I do have mirrors.”

“You do not see yourself clearly,” she growled, throwing his own words back at him and taking his cock into her grasp. Holding it but not actually giving him anything close to what he needed. “I want  _ you _ , you fool. You are smart and yet you don’t seem to understand that you too deserve to be happy. And that I wouldn’t be naked, in bed with you with your cock in my hand if I was not prepared to bare myself to you in every way imaginable, and not solely for your benefit.” As if to make her opinion even more clear than it already was she stroked his cock once, then twice, and then a third time for good measure. 

He flipped them over, hooking his hands around her hip and the other around her leg. Severus leaned over her, his mouth sucking on her collarbone, surely leaving another mark. 

One of his long fingers slipped inside of her, as he muttered, “as you wish and two can play your game.”

“Not...A...Game,” Hermione said breathlessly.

Severus added another, his thumb going to her clit. Toying with her - like he was the cat and she was the cream. 

“Ask for it,” Severus snarled. “Tell me how much you want it. I need to hear it, Hermione,” purring out her name. 

“Please fuck me.”

Lining up his cock at her entrance, holding onto her with his bruising grip, nearly black eyes met deep brown. Then he was inside her, filling her. Without thinking about it Hermione met him as they joined over and over, thrusting her hips to snap against his own. The two of them chasing after their own pleasure. Her legs locked around his hips. Her fingernails dug sharply into his back. 

Severus’ hands were everywhere, her hips, pulling her to him, wanting to have her closer. Her neck, kissing her sharply, staking his claim on Hermione. Though he did not need to. It was like they were dancing not purely fucking. 

As if the man was telling her you can have all this and more. This would not be a relationship of sweet words, flowers, and words of adoration. But, it would be one of passion. It would be one that was like a fire that could not be put out. Gentleness and kindness might one day come, however, now was not the case. 

It was like someone had set Hermione’s body alight. And that person was above her, playing with her, toying with her. Treating her as if she were nothing more than a violin and he happened to be a bow. His fingers slipping between them, teasing her clit. Pressing into her with the pad of his thumb. Closer and closer they danced among the flames that their bodies had created.

_ Fuck,  _ Hermione’s voice supplied. The only word that she could think in this instant. Sparks danced across her skin as he pounded into her. Hermione’s vision turned white and then she was falling over the edge of a cliff, dragging Severus along with her not long after. 

Collapsing on top of her, his breath coming out in short puffs, neither of them spoke a word as Severus rolled off of her. They both stared up at the stark white ceiling as they came back down to earth. 

“I will not blame you if you leave once you have recovered enough, that is, and never look back,” Severus murmured, turning to face Hermione. Clasping his hands together and resting his cheek on them. 

“Must you always assume the worst?” Hermione asked. “How horrible it must be to live your life waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Horrible, but far safer than expecting the best case scenario and then having the floor ripped from beneath your feet.”

Turning to face him she declared her voice firm but kind, “I cannot promise you forever, but in this moment here is the place I want to be.” 

Before Severus could utter another word Hermione kissed him once more effectively for once doing what some might consider impossible - silencing the man.

Forever isn’t promised to anyone, not even a Veela and his mate. All you can do is put one foot in front of the other and hope for the best. 

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End file.
